Life's guiltiest of pleasures: soap operas.

There’s been some big news in casting the past couple weeks.Sarah Brown (General Hospital‘s original Carly) is returning to Port Charles, and Rebecca Budig (All My Children‘s original Greenlee) will be popping up again in Pine Valley.
Although they both launched significant soap characters, there is a difference in their returns. Sarah is slated to play a brand new role, while Rebecca will be stepping back into the part that put her on the daytime map.
My initial reaction to these ladies’ comebacks was positive. I adore both these actresses and would welcome them on my TV screen anytime. But I do have a few reservations.
Let’s start with Sarah. She is probably one of the best actresses to ever come through daytime. She always brings such passion and intensity to her roles. That fire is what made Carly such an indelible part of the GH landscape. Without Sarah, I’m not sure there would still be a Carly.
Of course, I’m not knocking her successors. Not at all.Tamara Braun filled Sarah’s shoes admirably and even put her own stamp on the role.
Then there was Jennifer Bransford, who may not have been quite the right fit (as evidenced by her short time in the role), but she did a fine job with Carly’s nervous breakdown.
And now we have Laura Wright, who has rightly earned fan loyalty and accolades for her portrayal. She has made Carly her own, and she deserves to keep the part. Not that I think anyone at ABC even considered booting her for Sarah, but sometimes the higher ups are knuckleheads, so you never know.
I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m excited Sarah will be back on the GH canvas, but I’m glad someone else didn’t have to lose her job in the process.
So what’s my reservation? That she’ll come in and her story line will be a complete flop. Not through any fault of hers, I would suspect, but because soaps often make the mistake in these situations of either a) throwing the new character into a story/romance with an actor they’ve worked with before, banking on the chemistry to make it all fly, without bothering to offer a strong plot as foundation or b) making the new character so diametrically different than the actor’s previous character, thereby totally neutralizing the strengths of the actor and pretty much guaranteeing a disaster.
Did any of that make sense?
Bottom line: I’m thrilled Sarah’s coming back, but I hope GH doesn’t screw it up.
However, Sarah’s return doesn’t worry me as much as Rebecca’s.
OK, before anyone jumps on my case, I will preface all this by saying … and I’ve said it before … that Rebecca Budig is awesome. She’s cute, she’s funny, she’s a wonderful actress.
In fact, many people consider her the “real” Greenlee.
The problem is, I liked Sabine Singh in the role. Maybe I was the minority, but there you have it. Not to say I won’t welcome Rebecca back, but I think it’s pretty shabby the way Sabine got the shaft.
But you know what worries me most about all this? Where will this leave Aidan?
I thought Sabine had sweet, yet scorching chemistry with Aiden Turner. It was a big reason she was becoming more comfortable in Greenlee’s shoes. She finally had a story that was separate from everything so deeply connected with Rebecca, and it was giving her a chance to mold the role on her own terms.
And Aidan. How long have viewers waited for him to find someone worthy? Someone for the long haul? Someone you really believed he had a soul connection with?
He found that in Sabine’s Greenlee.
That’s not to say that Rebecca and Aiden won’t have the same chemistry, or even better, but it saddens and frustrates me to think I finally had an Aidan love story to invest in … and then poof!
We’ll see, though. Maybe the writers will continue with Aidan and Greenlee. I hope so. But I’m afraid they’ll throw her right back in with Ryan, and as much as I appreciate his portrayer, Cameron Mathison, Greenlee deserves better than what Ryan can give her.
That all said, I welcome Rebecca … and Sarah … back to daytime. The fact is the genre is better whenever they’re around, no matter what role they happen to be playing.

5 thoughts on “Sarah Brown, Rebecca Budig returning to daytime”

Kimi
December 19, 2007 at 10:03 am

I am very happy to see these 2 returning to daytime along with Darnell Williams (Jesse) & Debbi Morgan (Angie. I’ve missed them all!
re: Sarah – I adored Sarah Brown as Carly! To me, the character hasn’t been the same & I only started to really enjoy her again when Laura Wright took over.
But I have to agree with you. Usually when an old fave returns as someone completely different it doesn’t work out as well as it did the first time around. & I think your prediction is right on about them playing on old chemistry … I read SB may be playing Zacarra’s sister, which will inevitably put her in Sonny and/or Jason’s path. Guess we’ll just have to wait & see on that one.
I’m torn on Rebecca/Sabine. I really loved RB’s Greenelee, SS’s version was starting to grow on me in particular because of her relationship with Aidan, who has definitely been on the show entirely too long without his own leading lady. He & Sabine were great together.
But personally I didn’t buy Sabine’s version other than her relationship w/Aidan & I liked how she interacted w/her father Jack.
Lately, Greens just seemed to be a punching bag for everyone (Ryan, Kendall, Zach, Erica, even Josh got into the act). Her relationships with those characters (Ryan included) were weird & never caught on with me even tho AMC did all they could by recreating flashbacks & stuff.
I was getting used to SS tho & with more time she probably would’ve grown on me.
But I really hope that RB’s Greens stays w/Aidan cuz ITA that she can do better than Ryan. Also, Aidan deserves a front burner storyline & hot leading lady. I loved him w/Kendall but that obviously didn’t pan out lol.
But bottom line is I think ABC did Sabine Singh wrong the way they let her go. Brian Frons handled it in the worst possible way based on what I’ve read. I wish Sabine the best, she’s definitely talented. Hopefully we will see her again elsewhere in the near future.

Sarah
December 20, 2007 at 11:25 pm

Fans of Sabine’s are writing to ABC to protest her treatment & request that ABC re-hire her– if not as Greenlee then in another role or on another soap altogether. Even if you didn’t prefer her as Greenlee, if you thought she was a good actress & good for soaps, please consider writing the execs.
It really could make a difference in whether she gets another job soon.http://www.myspace.com/supportsabine
Thanks

Kara
December 20, 2007 at 11:37 pm

Hi, Sarah. Thanks for the info. I know there are many fans of Aidan/Greenlee, especially, who are concerned about what this cast change will mean. And you’re right about Sabine. As Kimi already said, she deserved much better than what she got.

Michele
December 21, 2007 at 9:32 am

I think bringing Sarah Brown back to GH in another role is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of (other than killing Alan, Emily and Georgie, those were the dumbest)…Now let me tell you how I really feel!
Like you said, Kara, she originated Carly and is best known for the role…So how are fans supposed to accept “Carly” as another character. ABC should have put her on another soap like OLTL or AMC.
I absolutely *love* Laura Wright as Carly and would never want to see her deposed.
Bringing Sarah back in another role is just another dumb thing that Guza and Frons have done to ruin this wonderful soap. 🙁

vy
January 15, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Sabine was doing great in her role as Greenlee. She never deserved this despicable treatment! Singh

Welcome to Soapbox1

Welcome to Soapbox1, a blog focusing on one of life’s guiltiest of pleasures – soap operas.

We discuss what we love and what puts us in an Erica Kane-like snit about today’s daytime and nighttime serials.

We invite you to jump in and share your thoughts, because we know there’s no fan quite like a soap opera fan.